Method and device for efficiently irradiating a target from multiple irradiation angles in a particle therapy system

ABSTRACT

A control system is described which provides a user interface that displays a clear graphical representation of relevant data for a particle radiation therapy system (such as a pencil-beam proton therapy system) for treating multiple beam fields as efficiently as possible. The user interface allows a user to visualize a treatment session, select one or multiple beam fields to include in one or more beam applications, and dissociate beam fields previously grouped if necessary. Further embodiments extend the ability to initiate the application of the generated proton therapy beam and the grouping of beam fields to be performed remotely from the treatment room itself, and even automatically, reducing the need for manual interventions to setup between fields.

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.14/866,280, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,764,163, filed Sep. 25, 2015, which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL BACKGROUND

Proton therapy is a type of external beam radiation therapy that ischaracterized by the use of a beam of protons to irradiate diseasedtissue. The chief advantage of proton therapy over other conventionaltherapies such as X-ray or neutron radiation therapies is the ability toadminister treatment dosages three-dimensionally by specifying the depth(i.e., limiting the penetration) of applied radiation, thereby limitingthe inadvertent exposure of non-target cells to the potentially harmfulradiation. This enables proton therapy treatments to more preciselylocalize the radiation dosage relative to other types of external beamradiotherapy. During proton therapy treatment, a particleaccelerator—such as a cyclotron—is used to generate a beam of protonsfrom, for example, an internal ion source located in the center of thecyclotron. The protons in the beam are accelerated (via a generatedelectric field), and the beam of accelerated protons is subsequently“extracted” and magnetically directed through a series ofinterconnecting tubes (called the beamline), often through multiplechambers, rooms, or even floors of a building, before finally beingapplied through a proton therapy device to a target area/subject in atreatment room.

Clinical institutions that provide proton beam therapy services requiresystems supporting efficient treatment workflows. This need is common toboth clinics with standalone treatment suites having a dedicatedcyclotron, and also to facilities with multiple treatment rooms thatmust share the beam from one cyclotron. Proton treatments are typicallydelivered as a series of discrete treatment fields, wherein the patientis setup and positioned for delivery of the proton beam to each field ina sequence of beam deliveries, one field at a time. These setups canrequire manual manipulations in the treatment room, manual preparationsat the treatment console, or both, with time consumed between eachtreatment field for manual processes. For either single-room orshared-beam facilities, extra time consumed by manual field setups canunnecessarily lengthen treatment sessions, and that can negativelyaffect patient comfort. By enabling treatment fields to be grouped as aset of fields for automated treatment, manual setups between each fieldand the time to perform them may be concomitantly reduced. Forshared-beam facilities, field groupings can also serve as an input tobeam request functionality, if needed, such that a request could be fora grouped set of fields to be treated to completion.

Generally speaking, cyclotrons generate a proton beam at a fixed energyfor the duration of a proton therapy treatment. During typical protonradiation treatments however, irradiating a tumor often requiresirradiating an entire volume (a tumor, for example) at different depthswithin a patient or treatment subject. These depths, which may bereferred to in discrete units as layers, naturally correspond todifferent “optimal” energy levels. Since cyclotrons operate only at afixed energy during a treatment session, irradiating different depthscan become problematic. Conventional methods for irradiating a volumeare performed by applying a treatment beam and begin by targeting thefurthest depth within a patient or subject. To achieve precise targetingand for differing depths, attenuating components are placed in the pathof the proton beam at or near the point of emission to reduce the energyof the proton beam.

These components may include collimators and jaws that block portions ofthe beam from reaching untargeted regions in the subject, or filters anddegraders that reduce the speed of the particles (and thereby the beamenergy). However, when a treatment plan for a patient or treatmentsubject has multiple beam fields with different iso-centers (treatmenttargets), a technician or radiation therapist may need to enter thetreatment area to add, modify, or remove the attenuating components toachieve the desired energy and positioning. For multiple beam fields,this can cause significant delays and additional discomfort for thetreatment subject.

Moreover, due to the complexity of the underlying machines, theiroperating and maintenance procedures, and the gravity of thecorresponding medical procedures, highly trained and skilled operatorsare needed to perform the calculations and actions necessary to makeadjustments to a proton therapy device to achieve the desired beamenergy and position levels. Naturally, this can result in furtherinefficiency, delays or even potential hazards

SUMMARY

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that is further described below in the DetailedDescription. This Summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

To overcome the difficulties inherent in conventional proton therapysystems, new techniques for automating, organizing, and graphicallyvisualizing these procedures are herein provided. A control system isdescribed which provides a user interface that displays a cleargraphical representation of relevant data for a proton therapy systemfor treating multiple beam fields as efficiently as possible. The userinterface allows a user to visualize a treatment session, select one ormultiple beam fields to include in one or more beam applications, anddissociate beam fields previously grouped if necessary.

Further embodiments extend the ability to initiate the application ofthe generated proton therapy beam and the grouping of beam fields to beperformed remotely from the treatment room itself, and evenautomatically, reducing the need for operator or physician to interveneto manually setup every individual treatment field. Additionalinformation, such as the progress of a treatment session for which thebeam is currently in use, is also clearly and intuitively visualized ina display device remotely displaced from the treatment room or area.

According to a second aspect of the invention, a method for displayingand receiving information corresponding to associating anddisassociating beam fields in a graphical user interface is described.Proton beam delivery to treatment fields are automated according to thearrangement of the beam fields, thereby reducing the time a practitioneror therapist requires to prepare a patient or target treatment areabetween treatment fields.

By utilizing the systems and methods described above, a user is able tointuitively and efficiently perform the requisite functions to groupmultiple beam fields for automatic proton beam delivery to a treatmentroom in either a dedicated or shared beam facility. These functions—allof which can be performed within a single, integrated user-interfaceremotely from a treatment room—include a graphical environment for thearrangement of beam fields for one or more beam applications of atreatment session, or dissociation of previously associated beam fields.In a shared-beam proton therapy system, the grouping function can workin conjunction with a capable beam queuing and allocating function,wherein a grouping can also serve as one basis for forming a proton beamrequest with duration sufficient to permit treatment of the set offields to completion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part ofthis specification, illustrate embodiments of the disclosure and,together with the description, serve to explain the principles of thepresently claimed subject matter:

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary proton therapy device in accordance withembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 depicts a flowchart of a process for providing beam fieldarrangement functionality in an integrated control panel, in accordancewith embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 depicts a first exemplary field grouping graphical interface, inaccordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 depicts a second exemplary field grouping graphical interface, inaccordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 depicts a third exemplary field grouping graphical interface, inaccordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 depicts an exemplary graphical user interface for beam fieldgrouping, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 depicts an exemplary computing environment, in accordance withembodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to several embodiments. While thesubject matter will be described in conjunction with the alternativeembodiments, it will be understood that they are not intended to limitthe claimed subject matter to these embodiments. On the contrary, theclaimed subject matter is intended to cover alternative, modifications,and equivalents, which may be included within the spirit and scope ofthe claimed subject matter as defined by the appended claims.

Furthermore, in the following detailed description, numerous specificdetails are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding ofthe claimed subject matter. However, it will be recognized by oneskilled in the art that embodiments may be practiced without thesespecific details or with equivalents thereof. In other instances,well-known processes, procedures, components, and circuits have not beendescribed in detail as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects and featuresof the subject matter.

Portions of the detailed description that follow are presented anddiscussed in terms of a process. Although operations and sequencingthereof are disclosed in a figure herein (e.g., FIG. 2) describing theoperations of this process, such operations and sequencing areexemplary. Embodiments are well suited to performing various otheroperations or variations of the operations recited in the flowchart ofthe figure herein, and in a sequence other than that depicted anddescribed herein.

Some portions of the detailed description are presented in terms ofprocedures, operations, logic blocks, processing, and other symbolicrepresentations of operations on data bits that can be performed oncomputer memory. These descriptions and representations are the meansused by those skilled in the data processing arts to most effectivelyconvey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. Aprocedure, computer-executed operation, logic block, process, etc., ishere, and generally, conceived to be a self-consistent sequence ofoperations or instructions leading to a desired result. The operationsare those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities.Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form ofelectrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred,combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated in a computer system. Ithas proven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage,to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols,characters, terms, numbers, or the like.

It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar termsare to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and aremerely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unlessspecifically stated otherwise as apparent from the followingdiscussions, it is appreciated that throughout, discussions utilizingterms such as “accessing,” “writing,” “including,” “storing,”“transmitting,” “traversing,” “associating,” “identifying” or the like,refer to the action and processes of a computer system, or similarelectronic computing device, that manipulates and transforms datarepresented as physical (electronic) quantities within the computersystem's registers and memories into other data similarly represented asphysical quantities within the computer system memories or registers orother such information storage, transmission or display devices.

While the following example configurations are shown as incorporatingspecific, enumerated features and elements, it is understood that suchdepiction is exemplary. Accordingly, embodiments are well suited toapplications involving different, additional, or fewer elements,features, or arrangements.

The claimed subject matter is directed to a particle beam control systemwhich includes beam field grouping techniques within a clear, graphicaluser interface. In an embodiment, the beam control system may beimplemented in conjunction with one or more instances of an integratedbeam control panel or display, executed as computer-implementedgraphical interfaces associated with one or more treatment rooms.Alternately, the beam control system may also be implemented as asingle, dedicated beam control panel and graphical interface, such aswhen a cyclotron is dedicated to a single treatment room and not sharedbetween multiple treatment rooms. The beam control system as describedmay be configured as a distributed system to provide customizedgraphical visualizations of a treatment session that includes one ormore beam fields arranged for one or more beam applications, andintegrated displays and control for a delivery of the beam for single orgrouped beam fields to a beam control system.

According to further embodiments, the beam control system (through thebeam control display, for example) may also graphically present beamstatus information for beam applications submitted by a user, such asthe beam field delivery order of the grouped fields. In addition, thebeam control interface may also provide controls for the user to add orremove beam fields to and from a beam field grouping. According to someembodiments, the display contents and controls indicate beam fieldgrouping functions and treatment statuses via graphical or numericmeans. According, the display and integrated controls can besignificantly, if not completely, language-independent.

According to one or more embodiments, control of beam delivery can beprovided remotely with respect to both the source of the particle beam,as well as from the treatment room itself. As recited herein, a beam isdefined as a proton therapy beam or other irradiated particle beam usedfor therapy treatment. Each session may itself contain one or moretreatment (beam) fields—the areas targeted by a beam during a portion orentirety of a treatment. These fields may be identified separately,collectively, or associated in one or more groups. In one or moreembodiments, beam fields in the same group may be irradiated in asingle, uninterrupted application. In one or more embodiments, beamfields may be grouped automatically based on beam field or treatmentfactors, such as treatment accessories, treatment table position,iso-centers, beam energy, and beam target locations. In one or morefurther embodiments, multiple requestors may each have grouped beamfields, wherein a shared beam may be applied to each grouping in turn,in accordance with a pre-defined queue.

As recited herein, a treatment facility is defined as a physicaltreatment complex consisting of multiple treatment suites. A treatmentsuite is defined as either a standalone treatment area, or one ofmultiple treatment areas within a facility where the beam can be used.Each treatment suite may consist of a treatment room, treatment controlroom, imaging alcove and various treatment preparation rooms.

As recited herein, a therapy team is described as one or more members ofthe group of therapists or proton therapy practitioners assigned to agiven treatment suite for one or more treatment sessions. An (optional)beam requester is defined as a treatment suite team member that canpotentially request the beam. Note that there may also be non-treatmentrequestors that can request to use the beam (e.g., research,maintenance, or service areas). These can also be beam requestors, ortreatment suites. A beam application is defined herein as an applicationof the particle beam that is either waiting to be fulfilled or ispresently being fulfilled. A beam sharing queue or beam queue is definedherein as an order in which beam requestors have requested the beam fora treatment session which have not been completed (but may includesessions currently in progress).

Exemplary Radiation Therapy Device

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary radiation therapy device 100 in a treatmenttherapy room, in accordance with various embodiments of the claimedsubject matter. As presented in FIG. 1, radiation therapy device 100includes a gantry 101, a radiation treatment nozzle 103, and a patientpositioner 105. In one or more embodiments, the gantry 101 may comprisean aperture through which at least a portion of the patient positioner105 is able to enter (e.g., via automatic and/or mechanical means). Inone or more embodiments, at least a portion of the gantry may beoperable to rotate around the aperture (typically while at least aportion of the patient positioner is disposed within). For example, asdepicted in FIG. 1, the gantry 101 may be implemented as a ring, atleast a portion of which may be rotatable around an axis bisected by thepatient positioner 105.

According to one or more embodiments, the gantry 101 is configured toreceive irradiated particles through a beam line connected to a particleaccelerator (not shown). The particle accelerator may be implemented as,but is not limited to, a proton accelerator such as a cyclotron orsynchrotron. In one or more embodiments, the particle accelerator may bepositioned remotely with respect to the treatment therapy room and maybe shared between multiple radiation therapy devices housed in multipletreatment therapy rooms. Beam lines (e.g., vacuum sealed tubes or pipesused to transfer irradiated particles) are used to connect the particleaccelerator to each of the radiation therapy devices. The irradiatedparticles are emitted from the radiation therapy device 100 through thetreatment nozzle 103 located on the gantry 101. In one or moreembodiments, the treatment nozzle 103 is rotated about the aperture ofthe gantry 101 through a rotation of at least a portion of the gantry.In alternate embodiments, movement of the treatment nozzle 103 may beperformed via movement of one or more robotic appendages coupled to thegantry 101.

The treatment nozzle 103 may be configured to emit the irradiatedparticles in a spot scanning beam (also referred to as a “pencil beam”).In one or more embodiments, a spot scanning beam may be produced bycrossing two or more beams at an extremely fine point, and a target area(beam field) may be irradiated with a raster scan (two-dimensionalemission) of the spot scanning beam. In one or more embodiments,multiple beam fields sharing the same or proximate iso-centers may beirradiated with the spot scanning beam in a contiguous session,uninterrupted by application of the spot scanning beam to more distantor unrelated beam fields, for example. In further embodiments, beamfields that do not require the addition and/or removal of additionalaccessories such as (but not limited to) collimators, jaws, and rangeshifters, etc., may be irradiated in a contiguous beam application, asan automated treatment of a set of fields.

In one or more embodiments, the patient positioner 105 may include atable, chair, bench, or bed upon which a treatment subject may lie, sit,or rest upon. According to further embodiments, portions of the patientpositioner 105 may be capable of movement, via automatic and/ormechanical means. For example, the incline of a portion of the restingsurface may be increased or decreased (e.g., physically via a mechanismor automatically through a graphical user interface). Portions of thepatient positioner 105 may also be equipped with means to rotate,extend, or retract. For example, according to one or more embodiments, aportion of the resting surface of the patient positioner 105 may beextended or physically positioned into an aperture of the gantry 101,such that a treatment subject resting on the patient positioner 105bisects the plane at which the treatment nozzle 103 is directed.

According to one or more embodiments, one or both of the gantry 101 andthe patient positioner 105 is/are capable of maneuvering, eitherindependently or in conjunction, to align a treatment subject positionedon the patient positioner 105 with a treatment nozzle 103. Movement ofthe gantry 101 and/or patient positioner 105 may include, but is notlimited to, rotation, extension, retraction, contraction, adduction,abduction, etc. of one or more articulated surfaces or portions of thegantry 101, and/or patient positioner 105. In one or more embodiments,treatment nozzle 103 may also be capable of limited movement, viamulti-axial rotation, for example.

According to an embodiment, a treatment subject may be positioned (e.g.,prone) on a patient positioner 105 at an initial or starting position.One or more portions of the patient positioner 105 may extend towards anaperture presented by the gantry 101, such that a target region of thetreatment subject is aligned with a position of the treatment nozzle103, located on or around an inner surface of the gantry 101. Inalternate or further embodiments, the gantry 101 may also rotate in anarc around the circumference of the gantry 101 to more closely align thetreatment nozzle 103 to produce the desired beam field. Once the gantry101, treatment nozzle 103, and/or patient positioner 105 are aligned inthe desired orientation, treatment therapy may begin. Specifically, aniso-center in the treatment subject may be aligned with the treatmentnozzle 103 via movement of the gantry 101 and/or patient positioner 105.In one or more embodiments, treatment therapy may comprise theapplication of irradiated particles generated at a (remote) particleaccelerator, received in the gantry 101, and emitted (e.g., as a rasterscan) in a beam field from the treatment nozzle 103 at an iso-centerlocated in a treatment subject according to a pre-determined treatmenttherapy plan.

In one or more embodiments, one or more of the treatment nozzle 103,gantry 101, and/or patient positioner 105 may maneuver or be maneuveredto achieve a more ideal alignment in between applications of beamfields. In one or more embodiments, beam fields with the same orsubstantially identical iso-centers in the treatment subject may beapplied as a contiguous session, as an automated treatment of some orall fields in a session. Movement of the gantry 101, treatment nozzle103, and/or patient positioner 105 may be performed automatically, viapre-programmed instructions that correspond to optimized alignments fordesired iso-centers, or may be controlled remotely via a user interface.

Automatic Multi-Field Grouping

FIG. 2 depicts a flow chart 200 of a process for requesting a treatmentthat may include multiple grouped fields in a single beam request for ashared therapy beam. Steps 201-211 describe exemplary steps comprisingthe process 200 depicted in FIG. 2 in accordance with the variousembodiments herein described. In one embodiment, the process 200 isimplemented in whole or in part as computer-executable instructionsstored in a computer-readable medium and executed in a computing device.

At step 201, a user-actuation in an integrated beam control panel isreceived as input. In one embodiment, the integrated beam control panelmay be instantiated in a plurality of computing devices in a facility,such as a treatment facility implementing a shared particle beam system.The user-actuation may work in conjunction with, for example, a beamrequest user-interface of the integrated control panel to allocate thetreatment beam for the duration sufficient to permit completion oftreatment of a set of grouped fields.

According to an aspect of the claimed subject matter, whether for atreatment suited with a dedicated beam, or a shared-beam, a user canperform a user-actuation which results in the treatment beam beingavailable for a duration sufficient to permit completion of treatment ofall of the grouped fields.

According to further embodiments, the session area which displaystreatment fields permits selecting a scope of the treatment fields thatthe beam will be used for upon its activation. The scope of thetreatment may include, for example, a single field, or a grouping ofassociated fields. These fields correspond to one or more treatmentfields in a treatment session, as pre-defined by a treatment plan for apatient of proton therapy treatment, for example. At step 203, a userinput is received indicative of a grouping of two or more beam fields.In one or more embodiments, this scoping can cooperate with a beamrequest user-interface which may also include functionality to allow auser to select multiple beam fields to be associated within a treatmentsession for a submitted request. Association may be elected as a binarytoggle that corresponds to a first selected beam field (e.g., with orwithout association with the first selected beam field), or multiplebeam fields may be selected within the user interface during step 203 tobe associated. A user may group beam fields based on the patient ortarget of the beam. For example, beam fields of higher priority for apatient based on the treatment plan of the patient may be groupedtogether. Other factors that may be considered when multiple beam fieldsare grouped together include, but are not limited to: shared beamaccessories, treatment table position, the patient's (dis)comfort,treatment plan requirements, and estimated beam field treatmentdurations, gantry position and/or angle, etc.

Once elected by the user in step 203, beam fields are associated in thecontrol system of the shared therapy beam and verified forcompatibility. According to one or more embodiments, beam fields thatshare the same (or substantially similar) iso-centers and/or energy maybe grouped together, either automatically or by the user via user inputreceived through the user interface, and beam requests may be fulfilledfor beam fields that are grouped together as a single contiguoussession, and which also do not require further adjustment of beamaccessories. For example, if the addition, modification, or removal ofone or more beam accessories is required between two beam fields, thesystem may disallow grouping of the two beam fields in a contiguous beamapplication. That is, a beam request for a grouping of beam fields maybe fulfilled such that every beam field in the beam field grouping istreated without interruption, e.g., via a diversion and re-allocation ofthe generated proton beam to other treatment rooms and/or otherunassociated beam fields in the same treatment room. In one or moreembodiments, the grouping of multiple fields in step 203 and theassociation in the system may be performed prior to the submission of abeam request performed in step 201, or during the submission process.According to further embodiments, a pre-submitted request may be updatedwith grouping(s) of multiple fields performed in step 203 via user inputreceived post submission.

At step 205, the beam display is updated to reflect the modification tothe beam field grouping. The beam display may include, for example thescope of any beam field grouping (e.g., single, multiple, or groupfields).

In one or more embodiments, the beam display may be customized for theuser by specifically identifying (e.g., emphasizing) the position of oneor more beam fields relative to other beam fields for the user's currenttreatment session. The identification may consist of visuallydistinguishing the graphical representation of each beam fieldcomprising the user's treatment session, by size, color, form, or othervisual indicia. Accordingly, each beam display and/or beam fieldgrouping visualization may be customized to emphasize a different beamfield grouping in the beam display.

For embodiments that include a shared beam source, the beam fieldgrouping controller can convey field grouping information as needed topermit coordination with other system components. For example, the fieldgrouping controller can communicate field groupings in making beamrequests to a capable beam queuing and allocation function, so thatthose requests can be queued for beam allocation, and statuses reflectedin beam queue displays.

According to one or more embodiments, beam field grouping may beperformed for a beam request at any time until beam usage is granted forthe beam request. A beam request may be updated with new or revised beamgroupings, or a grouping may be removed. In one or more embodiments,grouped beam fields may also be revised to dissociate one or more beamfields from the existing group. The beam field grouping display isdynamically updated (at step 207) whenever a subsequent beam fieldgrouping or a prior beam field grouping is added, modified, or removed,such as when a beam field grouping is canceled or disassociated.

In one or more embodiments, a beam control system executing along withthe beam control panel verifies that the revised beam request complieswith pre-established policies, and all grouped beam fields arecompatible. For example, if adding a beam field to another beam field(thereby creating a grouping) or adding a beam field to an existinggrouping would require the addition, modification, or removal of a beamaccessory during a single beam application, the beam field grouping maybe disallowed by the beam field controller. The beam control system mayalso verify that the beam fields share a treatment isocenter, or ifpositioning of the gantry and/or treatment subject would be required.The beam control system may also determine whether the user isauthorized to make changes to the beam application (e.g., via a userauthentication protocol). According to still further embodiments, thebeam control system may also group fields to perform a “dry run” (apractice run) that mimics the actions and movement taken by the gantry,nozzle, and/or patient positioned—but does not include application ofthe particle beam—to ensure sufficient clearance between the therapydevice and the treatment subject for each beam field of the beam fieldgrouping. Once updated and verified in step 207, the process returns tostep 205 to display the most current beam grouping configuration whileawaiting further modifications to the beam groupings.

Finally, at step 209, application of the beam is effected based on thebeam grouping order. For a beam field grouping, this may consist of asingle, contiguous beam application for each of the beam fieldscomprising the grouping. Beam application may terminate (or pause) oncethe last beam field of a grouping is treated. Once the beam applicationis terminated, the beam and/or subject may be prepared for the nextgrouping of beam fields. For example, one or more of the treatmentnozzle, patient positioner, and beam accessories may be modified (e.g.,by a physician and/or beam operator) to comply with the next grouping ofbeam fields.

According to further embodiments, once a beam field grouping isverified, the grouping may be saved (e.g., stored in a memory device) inthe beam control system at step 211. The grouping may be saved, forexample, to correspond to the treatment subject, a treatment plan, atreatment session, or a combination thereof. In still furtherembodiments, multiple beam field groupings may be stored for a treatmentsession. Subsequent treatment sessions for the treatment subject thatinvolved the same beam fields may be automatically initiated byreferencing the stored beam field grouping. During subsequent treatmentsessions, (i.e., treatment sessions that reference pre-grouped fields),the application of the beam according to grouped fields may be initiatedwithout further user input and/or repeated beam field grouping. Undersuch implementations, the beam console or display may also include auser authorization system to establish and enforce appropriate userrights to set up and/or initiate an automated treatment,

Exemplary Field Grouping Interface

With reference now to FIGS. 3-5, example graphical user interfaces ofthe beam field grouping interfaces are herein described. In anembodiment, the beam field grouping interface displays a graphicaldepiction of one or more beam fields. The one or more beam fields maycomprise, for example, the beam fields to be treated during a treatmentsession and according to a treatment plan. Alternately, the one or morebeam fields may comprise a selection or all of the beam fields includedin a beam request. According to one or more embodiments, beam fieldgrouping interface 300 allows the user to specifically select multiplebeam fields to be associated for one or more beam applications during atreatment session. For example, the user may be able to select withspecificity whether a beam field is included or whether a beamapplication is for a single field (indicated as the single vertical bar)or multiple fields (multiple bars). The user can configure a treatmentsession by actuating on the single field or multiple field buttons withjust a single user actuation (click).

As presented in FIG. 3, exemplary beam field grouping interface 300depicts a beam field grouping interface for a current treatment sessionthat includes six beam fields (e.g., beam fields 301, 303, 305, 307,309, and 311). Each beam field may include visual indicia regarding thebeam field, such as: the position of the treatment nozzle and/or theangle of approach for the beam application to the iso-center; anidentification of the beam field and/or isocenter; information regardingthe beam itself, such as energy and/or dosage; and whether the beamfield has been treated during the current session. One or more beamfields may be graphically represented as being grouped together. Forexample, as depicted in FIG. 3, bar 315 appears across beam fields 301,303, and 305 to indicate that the beam fields belong to a single group.According to further embodiments, beam fields may belong to multiplegroupings (e.g., indicated by bars 315 and 317). One or more beam fieldswhich are not grouped (e.g., beam field 309) may be presented in userinterface 300. As presented, ungrouped beam fields may be visuallydistinguished from beam fields belonging to the same group orassociation.

Beam field grouping interface 300 may also display treatment fieldsseparated by beam applications, or by separate usage requests inshared-beam embodiments. For example, beam fields 301-309 may beincluded in a beam application (or beam request), whereas beam field 311in the lower portion of user interface 300 may be part of the treatmentsession, but not part of the original beam request/beam application.Beam field grouping interface may also include a note panel 313 thatdisplays additional information for one or more treatment fields.Treatment fields may indicate (via a graphical icon) additionalinformation that may be of interest to the treatment provider (e.g.,radiation therapist or technician). This information may includeparticular details regarding the treatment subject that may be relevantduring the application of the beam for that beam field and/or aggregatedfrom the beam fields comprising the beam field grouping.

According to one or more embodiments, each of the beam fields 301, 303,305, 307, 309, and 311 may be implemented as user-input buttonsconfigured to respond to user-actuations to perform designated functionsand/or display information, and to allow one-action beam field grouping.As presented in user interface 300 for example, the user may groupmultiple beam fields together by actuating the beam field buttons. Anactuation on a beam field may be visually confirmed, by the extension ofbar 315 through some or all of the beam field, for example. Actuatingthe button of a beam field again may ungroup the beam field from one ormore of its current groupings.

User actuation may be graphically acknowledged in the panel 300 bychanging the appearance of the icon of the field actuated. FIG. 4depicts such an exemplary beam field grouping interface 400. As depictedin FIG. 4, the graphic representations of the beam fields may bedifferent, based on the current status of the beam field (e.g., whethertreatment for the beam field has been completed, is currently inprogress, or still pending), and/or the inclusion or exclusion of thebeam field for a grouping. For example, beam fields 401 and 403 of FIG.4 may share the same color in a graphical user interface, which mayindicate the completion of treatment for those beam fields. Beam fields405 and 407 may also share a color (not shown) that is readilydistinguishable from beam fields 401 and 403, indicating that treatmentfor those beam fields is underway. Beam field 409 is represented withyet another color that indicates the beam treatment for the beam fieldis still pending. Grouping for beam fields 401-409 may also be indicatedvia color, and/or via bars 415, 417, and 419. As with FIG. 3, beamfields included in the treatment plan but belonging to a differenttreatment session or separate group may also be represented (e.g., asbeam field 411) in beam field grouping interfaces 400 and 500, alongwith a field (413) to display notes, or other pertinent information.

Other visual indicia may be used to convey association or actuation. Forexample, the colors of the selected icon may be reversed, or the size ofthe icon may be modified, etc. FIG. 5 depicts such an exemplary beamfield grouping interface 500. As depicted in FIG. 5, the graphicrepresentations of the beam fields of an actuated beam field isrepresented by a graphical displacement of the actuated beam field fromits normal or typical position. As presented, beam field 505 appears tobe slightly displaced (along a third dimension) from the remaining beamfields (e.g., beam fields 501, 503, 507, and 509) in the group of beamfields presented in user interface 500. Actuation of beam field 505 (viaa user input device for example) may be performed to associate beamfield 505 with an existing group, or to disassociate beam field 505 froma previously associated group. As with FIG. 3, beam fields included inthe treatment plan but belonging to a different treatment application orseparate group may also be represented (e.g., as beam field 511) in beamfield grouping interfaces 400 and 500, along with a field (513) todisplay notes, or other pertinent information.

Once a beam field grouping is added or updated, the beam field may besubmitted to the beam control system. Submission may be performedautomatically (e.g., periodically), or via user actuation of asubmission or “save” button on the beam field grouping interface.

FIG. 6 depicts an example display of an in-room monitor comprised in anintegrated beam control panel 600. According to one or more embodiments,user interface 600 may be presented in the integrated beam control panelseparately, or as one of a plurality of panels presented during or inanticipation of preparing a patient or subject to receive treatment froma shared beam. FIG. 6 depicts such an embodiment—wherein a beam fieldgrouping interface 601 is one panel of a composite of multiple panelsdisplayed during the preparation period for a patient. As depicted inFIG. 6, other display elements useful to prepare a patient or subjectfor beam application may be shown. These other display elements providedby the beam sharing panel may include an identification panel 609corresponding to the current treatment being administered, such as thetreatment room, therapist, patient, treatment session, etc. for whichthe beam request is to be fulfilled.

In one or more embodiments, the treatment system may also be equippedwith position verification capabilities. These capabilities may beimplemented in, for example, the imaging system, a motion managementsystem and/or a treatment console verification system to automaticallyverify patient position during and/or in preparation for each of thegrouped fields in sequence as each field is encountered. The positionverification may, if necessary, automatically re-position the patientand/or patient positioner if necessary prior to an application of thebeam to the beam field grouping. According to further embodiments, theposition verification capabilities may also incorporate features toallow the user or operator to verify a system suggested position changebefore accepting, rejecting, or otherwise modifying the suggested changein position.

Further display elements may include in-room monitoring of a patient(e.g., the patient's position). As depicted in FIG. 6, a beam queue 601(for shared beam embodiments), a set-up monitor (monitor display 603)and one or more field monitors 1 and 2 (monitor display 605, 607) arepresented to verify patient preparation and procedures, such aspositioning the patient properly and with the proper treatmentaccessories and immobilization devices. An additional panel (setup notespanel 611) can list assorted preparation notes that the beam requestor(e.g., radiologist, oncologist, etc.) may refer to in order to preparethe patient for beam delivery.

Alternatively, the panel may be integrated and adapted for use with anytherapy setting with a shared or finite therapeutic resource, and wheremore than one potential consumer of the resource can request a usage ofthe shared resource. Additionally, the display panel may be integratedand adapted for use with any resource sharing situation where a resourcerequestor can self-request and group multiple fields for an operation tobe performed for the associated fields in a single, contiguous session.According to one or more embodiments, usage of the resource may begranted to other requesting users in between grouped beam fields. Stillfurther embodiments can provide privacy benefits such as anonymous orproxy identities for public displays. Alternatively, other requestingusers may have identities masked.

Exemplary Computer System

As presented in FIG. 7, an exemplary system 700 upon which embodimentsof the present invention may be implemented includes a general purposecomputing system environment. In its most basic configuration, computingsystem 700 typically includes at least one processing unit 701 andmemory, and an address/data bus 709 (or other interface) forcommunicating information. Depending on the exact configuration and typeof computing system environment, memory may be volatile (such as RAM702), non-volatile (such as ROM 703, flash memory, etc.) or somecombination of the two.

The computer system 700 may also comprise an optional graphics subsystem705 for presenting information to the radiologist or other user, e.g.,by displaying information on an attached display device 710, connectedby a video cable 711. According to embodiments of the present claimedinvention, the graphics subsystem 705 may be coupled directly to thedisplay device 710 through the video cable 711. A graphical userinterface of an application for grouping multiple beam fields may begenerated in the graphics subsystem 705, for example, and displayed tothe user in the display device 710. In alternate embodiments, displaydevice 710 may be integrated into the computing system (e.g., a laptopor netbook display panel) and will not require a video cable 711.

Additionally, computing system 700 may also have additionalfeatures/functionality. For example, computing system 700 may alsoinclude additional storage (removable and/or non-removable) including,but not limited to, magnetic or optical disks or tape. Computer storagemedia includes volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removablemedia implemented in any method or technology for storage of informationsuch as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modulesor other data. RAM 702, ROM 703, and external data storage device (notshown) are all examples of computer storage media.

Computer system 700 also comprises an optional alphanumeric input device706, an optional cursor control or directing device 707, and one or moresignal communication interfaces (input/output devices, e.g., a networkinterface card) 708. Optional alphanumeric input device 706 cancommunicate information and command selections to central processor 701.Optional cursor control or directing device 707 is coupled to bus 709for communicating user input information and command selections tocentral processor 701. Signal communication interface (input/outputdevice) 708, also coupled to bus 709, can be a serial port.Communication interface 708 may also include wireless communicationmechanisms. Using communication interface 708, computer system 700 canbe communicatively coupled to other computer systems over acommunication network such as the Internet or an intranet (e.g., a localarea network).

The integrated beam control panel 600 described above with respect toFIG. 6 may be executed in a computing device, such as computing system700, for example. In one or more embodiments, computing system 700 maybe located in the same treatment room or suite as the treatment device100 described above with respect to FIG. 1. Alternately, computingsystem 700 may also be located externally with respect to the treatmentroom or suite containing treatment device 100, so that the operator ortechnician is not required to be in the same room or suite as thetreatment subject when the treatment is administered. For embodimentswhere beam fields with the same iso-centers are grouped together, theoperator of the treatment device may initiate the application of thebeam for multiple beam fields without having to enter the treatmentsuite and manually adjusting the gantry or treatment nozzle (e.g., toadd/remove/adjust the position of collimators), thereby savingconsiderable time and providing a more efficient allocation of theshared beam resource.

By utilizing the systems and methods described above, various criticalfunctions for proton beam management in a dedicated or shared beamfacility may be performed. These functions—all of which can be performedwithin a single, integrated user-interface—include functionality forgrouping multiple fields together for a treatment session, visualizationof the grouping and/or treatment session, dissociation of groupedfields, and in a shared-beam system, to communicate such groupinginformation to a beam queuing and allocation function for use forexample, in making beam requests. As many (if not all) of thesefunctions may be requested by the user through single actuations, a useris able to intuitively and efficiently perform these requisite functionsfor themselves, and even automatically for pre-stored beam groupings.

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific tostructural features and/or process and/or logical acts, it is to beunderstood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is notnecessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above.Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed asexample forms of implementing the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A particle therapy device comprising: a gantryconfigured to receive a stream of particles; a treatment nozzle coupledto the gantry and configured to emit the stream of particles as a beamat a plurality of iso-centers disposed in a target subject; a computingsystem configured to automatically control an emission of the beam ofparticles to irradiate a plurality of beam fields corresponding to theplurality of iso-centers, wherein the computing system is furtherconfigured to form a group comprising a subset of beam fields of theplurality of beam fields, wherein the beam fields in the group have asame characteristic, and wherein adding a beam field of the plurality ofbeam fields to the group is disallowed if the beam field would requirechanging an accessory of the beam during a contiguous application of thebeam to the beam fields included in the group, further wherein, thecomputing system is further configured to control the emission of thebeam of particles to irradiate the group of beam fields in thecontiguous application.
 2. The particle therapy device of claim 1,wherein the gantry is configured to automatically rotate the treatmentnozzle along a plurality of axes around the target subject.
 3. Theparticle therapy device of claim 1, wherein the computing system isfurther configured to control a movement of the gantry around the targetsubject based on a position of the plurality of beam fields.
 4. Theparticle therapy device of claim 1, wherein the computing systemcomprises: a memory device comprising programmed instructions; and aprocessor configured to execute the programmed instructions to implementa graphical user interface operable to display a graphicalrepresentation operable to remotely control a usage of the particletherapy device.
 5. The particle therapy device of claim 4, wherein thegraphical user interface is further operable to allow a user to submit arequest for usage of the stream of particles to irradiate the group ofbeam fields contiguously, wherein the gantry automatically arcs aroundthe target, and administers the beam as it does so, according to atreatment plan.
 6. The particle therapy device of claim 4, wherein theprogrammed instructions further comprise instructions to detect andavoid impending collisions due to a movement of the treatment nozzle ortarget subject.
 7. The particle therapy device of claim 4, wherein theprogrammed instructions further comprise instructions to establish andenforce appropriate user rights to set up an automated treatment.
 8. Theparticle therapy device of claim 4, wherein the programmed instructionsfurther comprise instructions to verify a position of a target subject.9. The particle therapy device of claim 8, wherein the programmedinstructions further comprise instructions to allow a user to verify aposition change, and to automatically re-position the target subject inresponse to a user verification of the position change.
 10. The particletherapy device of claim 4, wherein the programmed instructions furthercomprise instructions to: generate a display in the graphical userinterface of the plurality of beam fields; receive a plurality of useractions through the graphical user interface, the user actionscorresponding to a user-initiated grouping of the plurality of beamfields; verify the group of the plurality of beam fields forcompatibility; create the group comprising the subset of beam fields;and store the group of beam fields in a memory device.
 11. The particletherapy device of claim 10, wherein the programmed instructions furthercomprise instructions to receive user input corresponding to aprogramming of a plurality of motions corresponding to a movement of thetreatment nozzle.
 12. The particle therapy device of claim 10, whereinthe programmed instructions further comprise instructions to receive,through the graphical user interface, a request to apply the beam to thegroup of beam fields contiguously.
 13. The particle therapy device ofclaim 4, wherein the programmed instructions further compriseinstructions to: receive a user action through the graphical userinterface, the user action corresponding to an ungrouping of the groupof beam fields; and disassociate the group of beam fields into aplurality of discrete beam fields.
 14. The particle therapy device ofclaim 1, wherein the same characteristic is selected from the groupconsisting of: the same iso-center; and the same energy.
 15. Theparticle therapy device of claim 14, further comprising a subjectpositioning device configured to support and automatically position thetarget subject, wherein the subject positioning device is moved toposition the target subject to align the iso-center with the treatmentnozzle.
 16. The particle therapy device of claim 1, wherein theaccessory of the beam is selected from a group comprising: a collimator,a jaw, and a range shifter.